In the field of high volume food production, it is common to provide dispensers which can be operated to dispense flowable materials such as sauces. For example, a dispenser may be operated to dispense a measured quantity of sauce with each squeeze of a handle. Such dispensers may be configured to dispense selected volumes of sauce. For example, one popular size of dispenser dispenses ⅓ ounce of sauce at a time.
Some sauce dispensers are of the gun-type. These dispensers dispense sauces that are packaged in cylindrical tubes. A push rod causes a piston to advance. Each time the piston is advanced, a portion of sauce is dispensed. An example of a gun-type sauce dispenser is the Franke Model 4006094 sauce dispenser gun available from Franke Foodservice Supply. Other examples include the Prince Castle Model No. 580 series sauce dispenser guns available from Prince Castle Inc. of Carol Stream, Ill., USA and the Franklin Machine Products Model No. 171-1173 sauce dispenser gun. Apart from being made from food-grade materials (such as stainless steel) these dispenser guns are similar in concept to guns used to dispense caulking and construction adhesives in the construction field.
In general, gun-type sauce dispensers dispense sauces that are packaged in stiff-walled cylindrical tubes. Some suppliers make sauces available in tubes having stiff cylindrical walls. For example the Quikspread® system available from Huhtamaki North America of De Soto, Kans. USA may be used to provide stiff-walled cartridges pre-filled with sauces of various kinds.
A disadvantage of shipping sauces in cylindrical cartridges is that the cylindrical cartridges can occupy a relatively large volume for the quantity of sauce contained in the cartridges. Another problem is the expense of providing sauces in disposable cylindrical cartridges. A further disadvantage is the difficulty in recycling the materials in disposable cylindrical cartridges.
Refillable plastic dispensing tubes are also available. A disadvantage of refillable plastic dispensing tubes is the inconvenience of filling the dispensing tubes with sauce from bulk containers as well as the labor involved in cleaning and maintaining the refillable tubes.
There remains a need for practical and efficient apparatus for dispensing sauces.